Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Deccan Odeyssey Train, Maharashtra, India

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Ltd in association with Indian Railways - Ministry of Tourism has launched a Super Deluxe luxury train "The Deccan Odyssey". The train has been benchmarked against the best luxury trains in the world like the Blue Train of South Africa, The Orient Express of Europe and the Eastern and Oriental of South East Asia.

The Deccan Odyssey's sheer luxury is a sight to behold. Everything in the train reflects the ways of Indian Royalty. The plush interiors, an awesome cuisine and grate sites to see makes the journey memorable. This luxurious train transports its guests on a remarkable sojourn of a land shining in legions grandeur - serene beaches, magnificent forts - palaces and experiencing divine tales etched in colossal rocks. A weeklong royal journey is through some of the best places in Maharashtra namely Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Tarkarli, Goa, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Ellora, Chandrapur (Tadoba Wildlife), Wardha (Sevagram), Ajanta and Nasik. The objective of running "The Deccan Odyssey" train is primarily to showcase the best of tourism assets of Maharashtra like pristine beauty of Konkan coast, the art, the culture, the wildlife, the heritage (including world heritage sites of Ajanta - Ellora) of Maharashtra as well as Maharashtra's local arts, crafts and cuisine.

The route has been fixed as Mumbai - Sindhudurg - Goa - Kolhapur - Aurangabad(Ellora) - Chandrapur (Tadoba Wildlife Sancturary)- Wardha (Sevagram)- Jalgaon(Ajanta) - Nashik and Mumbai. It will be a seven days round trip starting on every Wednesday from Mumbai. The seasonal tours will operate every year between October to April month. The itinerary of the tour is broadly as follows: